At one stage of his career, AC Milan’s Adil Rami had the cream of European football chasing his signature. When he was about to lift the Ligue 1 title with Lille, he decided to make the move to Valencia. Fast forward four years and now he is being offered to teams with the view of getting him off his Italian employer’s wage bill. As well as a couple of Ligue 1 sides, CalcioMercato is suggesting that Manchester United are one of the sides to have been contacted.

United are destined to be extremely busy this summer as they prepare for life back in the Champions League. However, it would be a surprise if Louis van Gaal was in any way interested in the former France international.

Rami is now 29 years old and has only managed 21 games in Milan this season. His stock has fallen from the all-action, determined, warrior of a player that left northern France for Valencia in the summer of 2011.

According to the Italian website, both Monaco and Marseille have been offered Rami this summer. They say that any fee would be around €7 million, which doesn’t make a deal impossible, just unlikely. Marseille could afford the transfer fee, but wages would be a problem.

Monaco would offer the most feasible solution. However, he doesn’t quite fit into their youth first policy. If someone like Ricardo Carvalho left, there could be space for him.

The problem when players leave Ligue 1, the wage demands they become accustomed to make it difficult for them to return.

There is no way Lille, his old club, could afford the move, although it may be a solution the player would be interested in.

This is why clubs like Manchester United are linked. The price is no issue, the wages would be more than manageable without making a mark in their budget. Any issues with the move come down to Rami just not being at a level that would improve the English side.

For a return to Ligue 1 to happen, Rami would have to drop his demands and Milan would have to set a realistic price - both very rare occurrences in football these days.

Andrew Gibney

Andrew Gibney started following France's Ligue 1 about 10 years ago and it is an obession that has stayed with him ever since.His writing career started as a hobby, but now he calls Lille, France his home and spends his weekend either watching Lille OSC or teams down in the fifth division of the French league pyramid, forever searching for the next Eden Hazard.A typical Glasweigan, he once walked 106 miles in seven days, from Sheffield to Lille, just to avoid paying for the Eurostar. Managing to talk his way into a few freebies from other clubs along the way.